Christopher Paul Haesler died Feb. 20, 2022, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Chris was born Sept. 26, 1962, to the late Guy and Alice (Carter) Haesler in Jamaica-Queens, New York. He was the youngest of six children.
Soon after graduating from Hicksville High School in 1981, Chris began working with on a neighbor on their original ‘Levittown’ type home in Hicksville, New York. They reconstructed the roofline on the home to include dormers. Chris also worked with his mother, Alice, a Realtor, repairing properties for sale.
Those projects led Chris to realize he loved working with his hands to make things functional and beautiful. It led him to a career in sheet metal work. He began with Aeroduct, Inc., in Mineola, New York in July 1983, where he made life-long friendships. This work led to skills in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC). Chris worked there until May 1991, when he headed west to Renton, Washington with his wife-to-be, Della Gunderson.
Chris met Della while helping a friend with a construction project in upstate New York. Della worked at a lumber supply company there in Kingston, New York. They shared a passion for remodeling and building. In July 1992, they were married among friends and family in Bethpage, New York.
Returning to Washington to begin their married life, Chris learned that to work in commercial HVAC, he would need to join a union. Normally that would require a five-year apprenticeship, but Chris asked Kirkland based Local 66 to challenge their journeymen’s test. He passed the test and received his commercial journeyman’s license in January 1993. He worked for Evergreen State Sheet Metal and at Everett Heat & AC in Everett, Washington on commercial and multi-unit residential properties.
In 1996 Chris and Della bought a 1909 Craftsman single-story home in Everett. It sat on a bluff with a view of the Snohomish River and the majestic Cascade Mountains.
Together they renovated the home and raised it to build a new first floor. It doubled their home’s size and gave them room to raise a family. Chris and Della adopted four children after fostering them as infants. Their three older children are in high school today in Mullen, Nebraska. They are Olivia Kay, Carter Allen, and Margaret (Maggie) DeLora. Grace Abigail is in middle school.
Chris had to quit working in the construction trades in late 2019 due to ill health. The children and Della moved to Mullen. Chris followed a friend and fellow sheet-metal worker to Poplar Bluff, where Chris purchased another “fixer-upper.” They made these moves as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.
As Chris’ health continued to fail, he didn’t get to complete his new restoration project. But he remained committed to working with Della in raising their four children.
Survivors include Chris’ and Della’s four children; sisters, Pam (Bob) Tyburski, Oakdale, New York, Gwenn Haesler, Hicksville, New York, and LeeAnn (Dane) Sicurella, Monroe, New York; brother, Greg (Carolynn) Haesler, Plainview, New York; a special aunt, Peggy Carter, and multiple nieces, nephews.
Chris was preceded in death by his parents and his oldest brother Guy.
Condolences may be sent to the Haesler family in care of Greg Haesler at: haeslerg@gmail.com, and to Della and their children at: dellaraegunderson@gmail.com. An online celebration of his life will be available soon through Our Saviors Lutheran Church of Everett, Wash. www.oslc-everett.com